Gamecocks Hit The Road For Kentucky

COLUMBIA, S.C. —- South Carolina men’s soccer hits the road for a key Conference USA match against No. 16 Kentucky at 3:30 PM ET on Sunday afternoon in Lexington, KY. The Gamecocks head to Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex in search of their first road win and second-consecutive conference victory to remain in the hunt for the Conference USA Tournament.  
 
The trip will serve as a homecoming for Lexington native Brian Banahan and Louisville, KY., native Tucker Monheimer. With a victory, Carolina would earn an October victory on the road against a ranked foe for the second-straight year as it took down No. 19 Virginia Tech in double overtime last season.

South Carolina will look to carry over the positives taken from a pivotal 2-1 victory over FAU on Sunday night in which Andrew Halloran sent home his first goal of the year for the game winner.

Carolina has faced one of the tougher schedules in the country up to this point. Including exhibition matches, the Gamecocks have faced five teams who were receiving top-25 votes or were ranked at the time of their match (Duke, Clemson, UCF, Charlotte and NC State) and are set to face another two (Kentucky and FIU) before the end of the regular season.
 
As of the latest polls, South Carolina has played a top-five team (No. 3 Clemson) and four top-17 opponents (No. 3 Clemson, No. 8 UCF, No. 15 Marshall and No. 17 Charlotte).
 
Head coach Mark Berson enters his 42nd season as head coach for Carolina. He’s been the only coach for the program since its first season in 1978. He is the active wins leader in NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer with 513 career victories and is one of just four coaches all-time to hit the 500-win plateau. 
 
WATCH

• Fans can watch Sunday’s match on SEC Network Plus. Links to the broadcast can be found at the top of the story and here.

KENTUCKY SERIES NOTES

• Kentucky leads the series 8-7-3 with the first meeting occurring in 1991.
• The Gamecocks are 2-5-1 all-time in Lexington.  
• The Wildcats have won four of the past six meetings.
• Carolina’s last win in Lexington was in 2012.
• South Carolina has outscored the Wildcats 23-19 in the series.

KENTUCKY SCOUT

• Kentucky comes into the match with an 8-2-3 record, including a 2-1-1 mark in conference play.
• The Wildcats are 6-1-1 at home this season.
• UK has won two-straight coming into Sunday’s match.
• Kentucky has outscored opponents 20-12 with 12.5 shots per game.
• Kalil Elmedkhar has led the way with five goals.

PLAYING AT HOME AS BEEN SWEET

• Carolina is an impressive 6-2-2 at home this season with three overtime victories.
• The Gamecocks have a 17-10 advantage in goals.
• Brian Banahan and Tucker Monheimer each have a team-best 12 points at home this year with four goals for each.
• CJ Mitchell-Smith has played well at home, too, with three goals so far while Luca Mayr has sent two home, as well.
• Thus far more than 18,000 fans have attended matches at Stone Stadium. That’s seventh best in the nation as of last Monday.

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